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Posted March 21, 2013 05:52 am - Updated March 21, 2013 05:53 am

2 Cents: Denny Hamlin struggling at start of season

Let’s face it; Denny Hamlin isn’t off to a good start in the racing season.

It started off with a 14th-place finish at the Daytona 500 after he led three times for 33 laps. He finished third a week later at Phoenix, but left with a $25,000 fine for criticizing NASCAR’s new Generation-6 race car.

He was 15th at Las Vegas and 23rd last Sunday at the Bristol Motor Speedway. He led a race-best 117 laps, but finished two laps down after bumping Joey Logano into the wall while racing for second place.

Does it get any worse than Logano challenging you while you’re still in the car after the race?

Hamlin said he wouldn’t pay NASCAR’s fine, then he recounted and said the battle wasn’t worth the time or the effort.

Now he’s fending off criticism from his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.

“That’s a freaking genius behind the wheel of the [No.] 11 car — probably the worst teammate I ever had, so I learned that now,” Logano said. “He decided to run in the back of me, so, whatever. I have a scorecard and I’m not putting up with that. What goes around comes around.”

Hamlin seems to bounce from one controversy to another. Despite the distractions, he’s still sixth in the Sprint Cup Series standings heading into Sunday’s race at Fontana, Calif.

The two continued to argue this week on Twitter. Logano tweeted, “Show some love and appreciation.”

Hamlin responded, “Last time I checked he had my cell and direct message button to choose from if he’s got a problem. Otherwise hush little child.”

Eventually, Hamlin will be able to focus solely on racing. Until then we can all sit back and watch the sideshow.